


Shadows and Mysteries

by W01FS0NG



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Chapter Lengths Vary, Erza is a good friend, Gen, Mention of the Mildian Magic Academy, Shinidamachu, Sting might be a jerk, WTF, Weird Magic, Zeref is a background character, combined magic, necromancy?, ofc has shadow magic, this takes place after season nine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:07:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27437068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/W01FS0NG/pseuds/W01FS0NG
Summary: A mysterious girl with lacerations covering her body enters the Fairy Tail guild hall ready to collapse. Everyone keeps saying that she looks like a female version of Gajeel without any piercings. While walking home, Gajeel here's something strange. Could she possibly be connected to the Iron Dragon Slayer?Read to find out.
Kudos: 5





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo, I just started rewatching Fairy Tail. Couldn't get this idea out of my head, so here you go...

Gajeel, Levy, and the rest of the strongest team in Fairy Tail were hanging about the guild. Everyone was kicking back and relaxing, having a good time until, well…

The door burst open. In stumbled a girl about Levy’s height. Across the guildhall, people stopped whatever they were doing to stare at her. She had long black hair and red eyes. She took small steps inside. She had a long white cloak with a black shirt, camo pants, and combat boots.

It was only when she collapsed on the ground that Wendy rushed over to her. The Wind Dragon Slayer could tell that she was very fatigued. Lacerations basically covered her body.

“Who is she?” “Where’d she come from?” “Some of the guild members muttered.

Wendy used her healing magic but only slightly. “She’s okay,” the girl announced. “But she needs rest.”

People carried her over to the infirmary and got her under the covers of a bed.

As Gajeel walked home, he couldn’t help but be bothered by how much she looked like a female version of him. Same black hair, same red eyes. The only difference is she didn’t have any studs on her face, and she actually had eyebrows.

Out of nowhere, he heard a little girl’s laughter. Yet, there was no one on the cobblestone street but him and Panther Lilly.

“Something wrong?” Lily asked him. The cat walked beside him.

The iron dragon slayer glanced down to his right. “No, just thought I heard something.”

The cat hummed. “You know, she kind of looks like you.”

“You think I haven’t noticed?” 

“Any idea why?”

“Can’t think of any, no.”

Panther Lily decided to leave it at that as the two entered their apartment.

The next day, people in the guild heard screaming coming from the infirmary. Lucy ran into the room to find the mysterious girl having a nightmare. Some strange shadow magic seeped from the girl. She tried to shake her awake but ended up getting punched in the face. Lucy let out a yell as she crashed into the wall.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she said, now awake and rushing towards the young woman.

“It’s fine,” she groaned, getting out of the hole they made in the wall.

“Lucky are you okay?” asked Natsu as he rushed in. Following him were Gray, Levi, Erza, and Wendy.

“Yeah,” the celestial wizard told them.

“I’m sorry,” the girl said quickly, bowing.

“It’s _okay,”_ Lucy insisted, swatting at the air.

Erza walked up to the girl, making loud steps with her armored boots. “Can you tell us your name?” she asked gently, placing her hand on her shoulder and leaning down to her eye level. 

“S-Sinai.” The girl sounded shy.

“Hello, Sinai.” The redhead stood straighter. “My name is Erza.” She gestured to the Celestial Wizard. “You already met Lucy.”

“Hi,” Lucy greeted cheerfully. 

“Over there are Natsu and Gray,” Erza continued. 

The two of them waved. “Sup!” “Hey.”

“And those two are Wendy and Levi.”

“Hi,” the bluenettes said warmly.

“Uh, hi,” Sinai stated.

“Would you like some food?” Erza offered. The girl nodded. “Alright, let’s get you into the hall.” The scarlet’s arm draped over Sinai’s shoulders and led her out of the room.

The other fairies took seats back at their table where Gajeel sat. He stared into the wood as if he was in his own little world. He began to pay attention when Gray spoke.

“I’m just saying that it’s a little weird that she looks a bit like Gajeel,” the Ice-Make mage stated in a low voice.

“Well duh,” said Lucy in a hushed tone. “What do you think it means?”

“It means nothing,” Gajeel decided, making the two mages turn towards him. His arms were crossed. He still stared at the table. “So she has black hair and red eyes, so what? Rogue has black hair and red eyes, and we’re not blood-related.”

“Didn’t he say during the Magic Games that Rogue was his sworn brother?” Gray whispered.

Irritated, Gajeel turned towards them and barked, “I can hear you ya know!” 

“Really?” asked the blonde, stepping towards him. “You’re not even the least bit curious?”

“Nope.”

“I wonder if she was running from someone, er thing,” Levi said out loud. They all turned to see her already sitting down. Her finger rested on her chin. An open book laid on the table in front of her. She had been making annotations to it.

“Why would you think that?” Natsu asked her.

“I mean think about it. Why else would she stumble in here with those kinds of wounds?”

“Maybe she got attacked by a wolf in the woods or something,” the fire dragon slayer figured.

“Still counts as running from something Natsu,” Gray told him, taking his seat.

“But did you see the way she apologized to me for punching me to the wall?” Lucy questioned. “It was almost as if she was expecting to get yelled at or something.”

“She does seem pretty quiet,” Juvia stated.

Still close to the lounge room were Erza and Sinai. The Requip knight saw when they entered the great hall that the girl was cautious about being around everyone else. “It’ll be alright,” Erza told her as she led Sinai to the counter.

“Oh, is she finally awake?” Mira questioned.

“Yeah. I was hoping to get her some food.”

“You got it,” said the white-haired woman.

While they waited, Erza watched as Sinai created little shadow figures. A black magic circle appeared on her open hand. A strange sort of black cloud coming from her fingertips created the little creatures. They then made these cute little noises. Smiling, Sinai cast a tiny dark portal big enough for the little guys to fit through. They hopped through the portal and came out of another one that was a few seats away on the counter. Then they hopped through the next one and came out at different spots. The process repeated several times, seeming to amuse the girl in some strange way. The magic disappeared when Mira came back in her view.

“Here you go,” said Mira, placing down a plate of food with a fork and knife. 

“Thanks,” Sinai said softly.

Mira also placed down a slice of strawberry cake for the scarlet knight. Erza thanked the woman before taking a bite of cake. “That’s _some_ magic you got there.” The girl smiled slightly. “Tell me, how did you come to master creation magic _and_ spatial magic?”

“They have the same element at their core,” Sinai told her. “I learned to control both aspects at the Mildian Magic Academy.”

The S class wizard paused. “That’s quite a bit of ways away from Magnolia,” Erza said before munching on some cake.

“Yes. It is.”

She took a bite of her cake. “Where are you from, exactly?” Gray and Natsu could be heard engaging in a shouting match.

“Some village you probably never heard of. It’s closer to Mildian than Magnolia actually.”

“Um, aren’t you going to stop them?” Mirajane asked Erza, pointing at Natsu punching Gray in the face. The ice wizard took his shirt off.

“They can sort themselves out,” Erza said, waving at air. Then a stool smashed into her cake. It spooked Sinai, making her teleport to a far end of the counter. The teenager looked as the Requip mage shouted, “You destroyed my cake!” She then banged their head together by just pulling their hair. “Now stop it!”

“Yes, Erza,” both men said in a downcast tone.

She then marched back to the counter and sat down, staring at the destroyed cake. Sinai shadow teleported back to her seat.

“My apologies,” said the scarlet haired woman. “Those two can be quite rowdy.”

“It’s okay.” Her food was ruined, but Erza couldn’t help but notice that the girl stared into oblivion. It worried the Requip knight. Just what had this girl been through?

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, sort of a slow start, but I promise it will pick up! The next chapter’s got some action!


	2. A Job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Natsu takes Sinai on a job. We get to know a little bit about her powers and a little bit about her time in the Mildian Magic Academy

It’s been weeks since Sinai first arrived. The members of the guild didn’t like that she was staying on a sofa, so they gave her a place in the female dorms (aka Fairy Hills). Of course, she needs to rent out her space, so to earn money she joined Fairy Tail so that she could go on jobs.

Other occupants included Ezra, the head girl, Levy, Evergreen, Cana, and Laki Olietta. The occupants could also have multiple rooms, so depending on how many you had, the rent was more or less 100,000 jewels.

Sinai’s Fairy Tail tattoo is black and small. It’s located on the right side of her neck, close to her ear. It’s mostly hidden by her long black hair.

Lots of times, she’s gone on solo missions. Most of them included taking down some monsters. Each one being just enough to cover her rent.

This time, however, Team Natsu invited her on their mission. The team included Natsu, Lucy, Erza, and Happy. Juvia and Gray had already left to go on a separate job. Wendy and Carla left to do one with Romeo and his father this morning. The job that  _ Natsu _ was suggesting just so happened to be in the next town over. 

The pink-haired Dragon Slayer, not wanting to get motion sick on the train ride, asked Sinai if she could create a portal that would get them there faster.

Sinai rubbed the back of her neck, saying, “I can only teleport to places I’ve been before.” The dragon slayer hung his head low as they got onto the train. He had to lie down the entire way.

The person who sent out the flier was apparently a rich person. The butler met the team outside and led them to a very nice lounge room where the master of the house sat. He looked like one of those Old Money types. “Ah, welcome, Fairy Tail Wizards,” said he. “I trust you had no problems getting over here?”

Natsu moved his mouth to speak but Erza beat him to it. “Not at all, sir.” She moved to sit down on a couch facing him. “Now, in the flyer, you didn’t exactly post a lot of information as to what we’ll be doing.” The others sat down.

“See, I don’t exactly know much about it myself, but people  _ have  _ gone missing. Usually, it happens when they are in the forest. So many people are missing now that it’s got the entire town on edge.”

“I see,” said Erza.

“Catch whoever or whatever is responsible and I’ll give you your reward of 200,000 jewels.”

At the amount, Sinai’s eyes widened slightly. That was enough to cover her for two rents, assuming they wouldn’t split the money.

To try and no more, the group split up to try and get more information from the townsfolk before heading blindly into the village. Lucy, Natsu, and Happy went together while Erza and Sinai went to a different part of town.

The group of two knocked on someone’s door. “Yes?” Replied a woman. She didn’t open the door, but the mages could tell she was on the other side.

“We’re wizards from Fairy Tail,” Sinai told her. “Here about the disappearances?”

The door swung open. The shadow mage felt surprised at and a little uncomfortable with the lady’s sudden hug. “Oh!” Cried the woman. “This town is saved!” She then let go and stepped back inside. “Come in, I’m sure you have some questions.”

Erza and Sinai shared a look.

“The disappearances started about two weeks ago,” the woman continued speaking. She came out of the kitchen to ask, “Would you like some tea?”

“Of course,” said Erza.

“Uhm, no thanks,” replied Sinai.

The lady nodded and ducked back into the kitchen. “What else could you tell us about the disappearances?” The scarlet-haired knight questioned.

“Adults  _ and  _ kids have gone missing.” The wizards heard a sniffle. “My own husband has wandered into those woods. He hasn’t been back for nine days.” By the sound of her voice, they could tell she was on the verge of crying. After a few minutes, she emerged with one cup of tea. It sat on a tray with a small container of sugar and a tiny pitcher of milk. 

“Is there anything else?” Sinai almost didn’t get any to ask.

The lady sniffled. “Yes. You should know that only people with mana have turned up missing.” The woman sobbed as Erza carefully dipped her tea. “He was a good man, my Luke. A plant mage, never broke the law.” Her shoulders shook. “It doesn’t matter which way you go into the forest! If you have magical powers, he’ll find you.”

Once the members of Fairy Tail regrouped, they decided to head into the woods. “Man, this place is weird,” said Natsu with his hands laced behind his head. 

“What do you mean?” Asked Lucy.

“There’s a weird smell in the air, like death, or something.”

Sinai’s eyes widened as her blood ran cold. “Death, you say?” She asked.

“Yeah,” said the dragon slayer. “It’s as if the dead are—not dead.”

Happy developed a freaked out look on his face. “What?!”

“What does that even mean?!” Lucy shouted, equally freaked out.

“Keep it down,” Ezra ordered, placing her arm in front of the celestial Wizard. “Someone’s been following us.”

Now paranoid, the group formed a circle and faced out. The Exceed hovered above them. Their eyes scanned the terrain. Out of nowhere, a beam of magic aimed itself at Sinai. It was in the shape of a crescent moon as if created by the slash of a blade. “Shadow’s reversal,” she said. A magic circle appeared right in front of a portal that opened. It sent the attack back the way it came.

“My, my,” said a sinister, silky sounding man’s voice. His body was nowhere to be seen. “That’s an interesting magical ability. You wouldn’t mind if we took it from you, would you?”

“And how would you do that?” She asked the man.

He stepped into the light. Everyone turned towards him. He had long brown hair and strange clothes. “I can’t tell you that  _ now _ , can I?”

She tsked. “Whatever.” 

His sly smile somewhat faded. “Actually, taking all of your magic would be great.”

“Well, that’s never gonna happen,” Natsu told him. He held his fist as if gearing up for a fight. “Fire Dragon, Iron fist!” He shouted. Flames engulfed his hand as he moved to punch the guy, but he dodged.

“You’re magic would be quite sufficient for our needs,” the man noted. His smile returned. 

“That’s not creepy at all,” Happy noted sarcastically.

“Collapse to the inverted world.” Somehow, reality shifted. The ground turned into the ceiling. They appeared to be walking on air. 

“What the-“ Erza said before noticing the man come up behind her. She requipped a sword to block it, turning around to face him. But somehow he wasn’t there. A slash wave filled with mana hit her in the back. She turned to face him, but he was already hovering above her. She saw tiny wheels enabled him to float.

“Erza!” The others shouted. 

“I’m fine,” said the scarlet knight, finding her ground.

“Careful there,” said the sinister man with a sword drawn, its tip dripping with blood. “You just might get turned around.”

“Hey, what are you playing at?” Natsu asked him with his fists up.

“Aye!” Shouted Happy. 

“You’ll see,” he replied, his smile growing wider.

“Fire Dragon’s wing attack!” He rushed towards the man and was about to grab him and send him flying with fire, but something was off.

“Wrong direction, buddy!” The mysterious man teased.

The Dragon Slayer turned to find him standing behind him. “But, how?”

The man moved into the shadows of the trees and laughed maniacally. To that, Sinai smiled. “Traveling shadows.” A magic circle appeared in front of her as shadows engulfed her figure. She then reappeared in the shade of the trees. Thinking that he was right where she wanted the man, she fired a blast of darkness. The girl missed. He turned out to be above her, slicing at her shoulder. 

Sinai tried not to yell in pain before teleporting from different shady spots, trying to land a hit on him. At the last second, she recognized that a sword came from the opposite direction she thought it would. Immediately, the girl teleported back to the group.

“Open! Gate of the Golden Bull, Taurus!” A doorbell rang, and out came a Bull standing on his hind legs. An ax was strapped to his back.

“My, Miss Lucy, you look smokin’ as usual,” the Bull told her. Sinai could have sworn she saw hearts instead of eyes.

“Later, Taurus,” Lucy told him. “But now, we need to take this guy down!” She pointed at the man.

“Yuoooo got it!” The celestial spirit enthusiastically said. He then charged at the man, drawing his ax. The Bull jumped before bringing the ax down on where he thought the opponent was, but he was wrong.

The man slashed his sword at the celestial spirit from his right, but surprisingly, Taurus moved to block the move at his left. It worked, to everyone’s surprise.

“Everything’s reverse,” Sinai voiced.

“What?” Lucy asked, turning to the girl. The clashing of metal could be heard from their right. Or was it their left?

“This plain,” Sinai said louder. “It’s a type of terrain magic that makes everything flipped. Left is right, right is left, up is down, down is up, backward is forwards, and forwards is backward. We can’t trust our sight! Just our other senses and intuition!”

As the man backed away from Taurus, Natsu sniffed the air. “Fire dragon roar!” 

“Go get him Natsu!” Happy cheered.

The team heard a shout. Slowly the terrain magic dissolved.

“Taurus, return!” Shouted Lucy. The giant bull shrunk into the key.

The mysterious man appeared in front of them laying on the ground. He groaned in pain. Sinai ran towards him. “Where are the villagers?” He didn’t answer. “Where-“ she was too shocked to finish her question.

The man became clay and bones before turning to dust and floating away in the wind. Sinai gasped and rushed back, almost tripping over her feet.

“Natsu, that must have been a pretty powerful attack!” Happy sounded half congratulatory and half concerned.

“I don’t think Natsu’s fire caused him to dissolve, Happy,” the shadow mage told him.

“Huh?” The rest of the team said.

“Clay, dirt from a person’s grave, and their bones.” She stood unsteadily. “Those are two ingredients a necromancer needs in order to revive someone. That is, if the person hasn’t been reincarnated. The man we just fought  _ was _ someone from the dead. And if he wasn’t resurrected correctly, then he’d probably have to consume mana from other’s souls to stay alive. But typically, they’d take the souls from recently deceased people, not _ living  _ people.”

“Could the necromancer be nearby?” Lucy wondered, getting worried.

“I’m not sure,” said the new Fairy Tail member, staring at where the man used to be.

“How would you know all that stuff about necromancy anyway?” Natsu wondered.

“I,” she hesitated, “Read a book on it during my time at the Mildian Magic Academy.” Sinai then turned to Natsu. “Could you see if you can smell the townsfolk?”

“Uh, yeah,” said Natsu. He grasped his fist. “We’ll find these people in no time!”

“Aye!” Happy exclaimed.

As they walked through the forest, Natsu led the group in the front with Happy and Lucy walking next to him. Erza decided to strike up a conversation with their new teammate. “So, how long did you study at the academy?”

“Oh, I’d say, maybe…” Sinai had to think. “Eight years?”

“Did you recently graduate?” 

“Uh, yeah.” The younger female’s eyes scanned the woods. “About a few years back.”

“You said you learned how to control two different types of magic during your time there?”

“Yeah. I grew up knowing spatial magic, but once I met a certain professor, he encouraged me to try and expand my magical ability. That led me to be able to create things out of shadows. I spent most of my time balancing the two aspects of shadow magic. I only know about necromancy because I got bored in the library once.”

“I see.”

Pretty soon, the group happened upon a cave. “I can smell them in here,” Natsu told them. “There’s  _ tons _ of people in this cave.”

They traveled further in and discovered torches lining the walls. Further down, we’re people in chains.

“We’re saved!” Said a woman half cheerfully. There were much hubbub and murmurs. 

“Was there only one person keeping you here captive?” Erza asked the first person she saw, slicing at their chains. Natsu went ahead and melted some of the others’.

“Yes, there was. Where is he? Did you take him down?” Asked a middle-aged man.

“We did more than take him down…” Sinai trailed off.

“Oh, thank the gods,” some people muttered.

“Do you have some food?” Asked another. “We’re all starving.”

A low shrieking could be heard from deeper into the cave. The captives quieted down.

“What is that?” Asked Lucy. The Fairy Tail mages turned to the noise.

Small, long, eel-like demons slithered in the air.

Happy’s face lit up. “Fishies?!” He sounded so excited.

“I don’t think those are fish, Happy,” Sinai warned.

“Then what  _ are _ they?” He asked her.

“I don’t know, but I don’t like it.” The creatures shrieked again as they circled the wizards. 

“It’s the soul collectors!” Shouted a man. 

“Kill them! Kill them!” Shouted another.

“Uh.” Sinai’s voice was shaky as one of the soul collectors approached. “Uh. Gah!” With a wave of her hand, she produced a solid shadow barrier. At first, it tried to go through it but then became smart enough to go around. “Eh?!” Finally, she blasted some shadows at it and the demon went splat against the wall.

The other soul collectors shrieked but were soon cut down by Erza. 

Once they freed all the townsfolk and wandered back into town, a large feast was held. The food was cooked by the rich man’s chefs and the event was held at his mansion.

They all traveled home. Sinai stared out the window of the train, seemingly deep in thought. Erza was also in such a state. She kept wondering about this person. Somehow, it seemed as though Sinai was lying to them. That’s when an idea developed in her head. She’d take people to Mildian for a mission. Then they’d go to the academy to search the records.


	3. Looking Through Academy Records

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Natsu, at full capacity looks through records of the Mildian MaMagic Academy

The job was over, so Erza thought she’d tell the group she’s chosen why they were really in Mildian. The job was tough, and high paying, but now it was time to hang around Mildian. Among the group were Lucy, Natsu, Levy, Gajeel, Gray, Juvia, Wendy, Happy, Carla, and Panther Lily.

She cleared this little inquiry with Master Makarov who was also closely watching the girl. It’s been two weeks since the job involving the man who kidnapped all those people. Sinai went right back to going on solo missions. Makarov was beginning to feel suspicious of her.

Sinai didn’t really say much, and always stared at Gajeel. Anyone could write that off as a crush or something, but somehow Erza and Makarov knew it was different. Not to mention the way she kept staring at Lucy as well. The Master also found her knowledge of necromancy disturbing.

The wizards had all gathered in the lobby of the inn they were staying at. “So, what’s this about?” asked Gray. He stood shirtless with his arms crossed, leaning against the sofa. Wendy and Carla sat on the piece of furniture. Juvia sat in a chair, staring at Gray. Everyone else stood.

“We’re going to the Mildian Magic Academy,” Erza explained.

“Isn’t that where Sinai went to study?” Lucy questioned.

“It is, but I can’t shake the feeling that something’s off about her. So, we are going to do a little research.”

“On what, exactly?” Levy asked.

“We’ll be going through the school records. Compile anything that mentions Sinai.”

“Are we looking for anything specific about her?” Gajeel questioned.

“No.”

The school’s architecture was a marvel to look at. Two statues of women stood at the tops of the steps on either side. In front of the entrance to the building were six columns. They held up a triangular stone feature with an intricate design. On the rest of the building laid bricks that left space in an arch formation a few bricks apart.

Inside were high walls and long hallways. Signs pointed to different classrooms. Statues were placed at different corners. They were models of past graduates who became famous. One such person caught Lucy’s eye. Anna Heartfelia, her ancestor. 

“Lucy!” came Natsu’s voice. He, along, with the others stood by the stairs. “Are you coming?”

“Yeah!” she responded, running up to them. A sign, pointing downward, read Library. This was the best place to start.

The staircase spiralled and led them straight into a vast storage of books. None of the mages could find the end to the shelves. Wendy and Carla walked right up to the Librarian’s desk. 

“Excuse me,” said Wendy. “Where can we find school records?”

“In the back sweetie,” the old lady told her, pointing down the vast isle of wide bookcases. “Just follow the signs.”

“Okay, thanks.”

The group walked towards a section the length of the Royal castle’s banquet hall. At the very sight of it, Natsu drooped. He didn’t want to pour through all these probably thousands of books.

It’s been an hour and they haven’t found a thing.

“Maybe Sinai didn’t go here?” Levy theorized.

“No,” said Erza. “That can’t be it.”

Lucy brought a few different small journals to the table. “I think I found something. She opened one of the pages and found something off. “What?!”

“What is it?” asked some of the others, rushing to her.

“The date in this book says the year was 373.” The blonde pointed to the handwriting in the top corner of the page.

“Seriously?” asked Gray, wanting to get a closer look. Levi, Wendy, Natsu, and Happy had the same idea. “What’s it say?”

Her finger traveled down to the handwritten notes of a professor who had long been dead. “Sinai has been developing greatly in her talents concerning different aspects of shadow magic. She already had reached her full potential concerning spatial magic, but her grasp of creation magic is growing. She is now able to summon multiple at a time.” 

She flipped a few pages ahead and resumed reading, “I’m concerned about Sinai’s connection to Zeref. Those two have basically been inseparable. However, while her intentions are pure, I’m not sure about Zeref. I’m concerned he may be using dark magic.” The date had the year 374.

“Wait, why would she be hanging around Zeref?” Levy wondered.

She took another book from the pile. The name printed on the inside of the cover made her gasp. Quickly, she held the book up to the celestial wizard. “Lucy, look! The author’s last name is Heartfelia.”

Lucy snatched it out of her hands. The next page read, Eclipse. The year this was written was 370. She read the first entry aloud. “The dragon’s children, Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, Sting, and Rogue are quite the cute bunch. It’s been fun trying to teach them. But, the number of dragon attacks are increasing everyday. There’s no telling when Achnologia will strike.” She turned to the next page. “Zeref has this plan he calls the Eclipse gate. He needs my help in getting it together, saying that the best magic to imbed within it would be celestial spirit magic. His plan is to send the dragons’ children to the future. The poor dragons are dying. They’ve sealed themselves within the bodies of their children in the hopes that _they_ don’t become dragons themselves. Anyway, the hope is that they will grow up in a world where Ethernano is plentiful so that they could one day stop Achnologia. Four hundred years or so into the future, a defendant of mine will open the gate and let the children through-“

She was interrupted by the sound of a book dropping to the floor. The mages all turned to find Gajeel, standing a few feet away from them. His mouth stayed open and his eyes stayed widened. “Gajeel?” asked Levy, gently. She moved towards him. “What is it?” He didn’t speak. 

She picked up the book, which lay open. The blue haired girl read, “New students, Zeref Dragneel, age seventeen, and…” Her eyes widened as well.

“And?” Gray asked, now curious.

“Sinai Redfox,” stated Gajeel. A collective gasp escaped from the Fairy Tail mages.

~Elsewhere~

Sinai stood on a cliff outside of town. Placing black marbles on the floor, she said, “Show me Zeref Dragneel.”

A wavy image of the dark-haired man walking around displayed itself. He then turned around. “Hello, Si,” he greeted warmly. “So then it’s true.” The two of them sat down. “I thought I was beginning to sense you.”

“Hello again, old friend. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”

“Even longer for me,” he smiled. “I truly am sorry about what happened to you while I was creating the book of Deliora.”

“It was an accident, I know,” she told him. “The necromancer who brought me back tried to tell me otherwise, though.”

“Speaking of, how resurrected are you?”

“Well, I don’t need the soul collectors to get souls for me to munch on. For some reason, I was his perfect trial. The others don’t like me very much because of that.”

“I see.”

One of the eel demon soul collectors slithered up to her in the air. “I better go.”

“I’ll be seeing you.”

The shadowy lacrima stopped projecting. She picked it up and faced the collector. “Show me the way,” she told it. The demon circled her before leading her down a pathway.

Little did she know that Zeref would send some of the collectors his brother's way.

~In the library~

“But, how would that be possible?” Lucy questioned. “Did she go through the gate with you guys?” They faced the dragon slayers in the book.

“Hey man, I don’t even remember passing through the gate,” Natsu told them.

“And I don’t remember having a sister,” Gajeel stated. “Unless…”

“What is it?” asked Pantherlily. 

He tsked. “Never mind.”

“Maybe she’s immortal, like Zeref,” Juvia theorized.

“That could be it,” Erza said. She sighed. “It’s late. We should be heading back to the guild.”

As the group walked to the train station, Natsu and Happy approached the celestial spirit mage. “So,” said the Dragon Slayer, trying to whisper. “Are you gonna tell us why you took that lady’s notebooks?”

With crossed arms and her nose to the air, Lucy replied, “I did _not_ steal books from the library. I mean, come on. I’m not that type of person.”

“Come on~.” Happy nudged her playfully.

She sighed, saying, “Fine, but only at my apartment.”

Gajeel couldn’t get the child’s laughter out of his head from when Sinai first came to Fairy Tail. Since that time, he had wondered why it sounded so familiar. Now, he supposed it made sense. But why couldn’t he remember his own sister? Was she even his sister? She could be his cousin for all he knew. The only things he really remembered about his childhood was that his home was attacked, so he ran and found Metalicana. He didn’t remember being at this magic academy at all. He doubted that Natsu did either.

A strange shrieking brought him out of his thoughts. He glanced up to see strange eel demon looking things.

“Um, are those the-“ Levy began to ask the group.

“Yeah,” confirmed Natsu.

“So, so what do we do?” Gray questioned, getting slightly antsy.

To their surprise, the demon turned around and slithered away.

“We should probably follow it,” said Carla. “It could lead us to something.”

“Or someone,” stated Pantherlily.

“Aye!” Shouted Happy.

“We should get going,” Erza told the group. They all chased after the demon.

  
  



	4. Running into Sting and Rogue

The group had been chasing after it for hours. The sky looked to be about twilight. The group chased the damn thing out of the city and deep into the forest. Chasing might be too fast of a word. The eel demon wasn’t traveling all that fast. Yet somehow, they managed to lose it. That didn’t exactly matter now, as Natsu and Gajeel had picked up Sinai’s scent.

That’s when they noticed something strange sticking from the earth. Wanting a closer look, Natsu lit his hand ablaze and stepped forward. To their surprise, it was a grave. “Here lies Sinai Redfox,” Natsu read. “x353 to x375. The best Shadow mage from Mildian Academy.”

“So I guess that answers the question of if she was immortal or not,” Gajeel spoke. His arms crossed.

“Wait a minute,” said Lucy, stepping closer to the grave. “‘53 to ‘75. She died at Twenty-two.”

“Natsu! Is that your fire?!” Called a familiar voice.

The Fairies all turned to find Sting and Rogue walking towards them. Frosch and Lector trailed behind. The Light dragon slayer held a ball of brightness in his hand.

“Sting?” The Fire Dragon questioned. He walked towards the quartet. “What are you guys doing out here?”

“We could ask you the same question,” Rogue commented.

“We were following one of those weird fishies!” Happy told them, flying over.

“How can he still think that they’re fish?” Juvia quietly asked Gray.

“Did they happen to float?” Lector questioned the blue cat.

“Aye!”

The twin dragon slayers glanced at each other.

With crossed arms and a slight sigh, Lector pointed out, “Dude, those are soul collectors.”

“Eh?!” Happy positioned himself as if he’d just jumped back from fright, only, he was in the air. “Wait, they eat souls?!?!”

“He said,  _ collector, _ Happy,” Carla corrected him. “Honestly…” she muttered, averting her gaze.

“We were following one ourselves,” Sting stated. “Then Frosch got tired so we stopped… and lost it.”

“We’ve been wandering around trying to find it again,” Rogue continued. He then noticed the grave and inclined his head towards it. “Who’s that?”

“Some girl,” Gajeel told them. The others glanced at him briefly out of shock, but soon let it go. Maybe he wants all the facts first.

“We’ve ran into one of those,” Sting commented, walking towards the Fairies.

“How so?” Gray asked, crossing his arms.

“We found one of the soul collectors taking a soul,” Rogue explained. “So we went after it, only to find this girl. We fought, she got away.”

“What kind of magic was she using?” Erza questioned.

“Shadow magic.” Sting told them, much to their surprise. “Shadow creation magic  _ and _ shadow spatial magic, to be specific.” He then studied the look on their faces. “Why? Do you know her?”

“You could say that,” Lucy stated.

A shrieking noise appeared. The wizards glanced up to find a soul collector floating above them. It shrieked again and went North.

“We gotta follow that thing,” Natsu told the group.

“Aye!” Agreed Happy.

~Elsewhere~

Sinai followed the path the collector had shown her. It was narrow, and dangerous, situated on the side of a mountain. Though shadows were present, making it easier for her to teleport, she refrained from magic. She didn’t want to drain her mana by just getting to her destination. The young woman wouldn’t be surprised to find the people she searched for in a cave not too far ahead. The fact that this was easy meant that it was a trap. She had that gut feeling.

~In the forest~

The sun had started to rise. The group was beginning to feel tired, but they knew they had to press on. Otherwise they would lose the soul collector. Wendy actually had fallen asleep, having never really stayed up this late. She was currently being carried by Gajeel.

Most of them stayed silent while some commented about how long this was taking. Some though, spoke about their findings in the Academy to the Sabertooth members. Just to pass the time, and to keep themselves awake. If this was going to be a joint venture, then everyone deserves to know the facts, right?

One pause by a stream costs them their weird demon guide. It disappeared from them, yet the stench of death mixed with evil told them that the soul collectors had taken them to some sort of threat. Yet, Sinia’s scent was also present. They wondered what they were getting into, and how this young woman -- whom they’ve recently grown suspicious of -- was tied into it all.

Yet, they knew they had to make camp and eat something. Otherwise they wouldn’t have the energy to do much.

Lucy stretched as she sat down by a tree that had fallen over some time ago. Gajeel laid the young dragon slayer on the ground gently. As Erza, Natsu, Happy, Sting, Lector, and Gray went to go hunt for a wild boar, the others stayed around their camp.

Lucy kept staring at her bag. She wondered if she dared look into the contents of her ancestor’s notebooks. The Celestial Spirit mage remembers Aquarius telling her that Anna was a brilliant wizard. Not much other than that was known of her, however. This fact was beginning to irk the blonde greatly. Then there was the fact that she knew Zeref.

“You seem vexxed,” Levy noticed as she sat down next to her.

“You have no idea,” Lucy told her in a downbeat tone. She sighed. “I just, I can’t really get over the fact that I know so little about my own lineage. And, how can someone I’m related to be friends with Zeref?!”

Levy peered up at the sky. “Well, just because they were both the ones to send the Dragon Slayers to this time period doesn’t really make them friends. I’d say more like acquaintances by what you read from those journals.”

“I hope you’re right.”

Heartfelia never did peek through them by the time the others came back.

“Gray, my darling! You’ve returned!” Juvia said as she rushed to his side. The others could have sworn to have seen hearts in her eyes. The rain woman clung to his side. A small flash of annoyance crossed Gray’s face, but it quickly subsided.

Natsu got a fire going in order to cook the meat while some of the others prepared it.

Wendy awoke just in time for the meal. She yawned before smelling the air. Noticing the food, her stomach growled. “Here,” said Sting as he tossed her some food. She attempted to catch it but failed. Before it could hit the ground, though, she grabbed it.

Once they were all done eating, the group pressed on, along a narrow mountain path. It was long and dangerous. Volatile soul collectors moved to attack them, or steal their souls. Some of the mages nearly slipped off the path a few times when the collectors zipped past them. Had it not been for the others, they might have fallen.

Morning was beginning to crest over the mountain tops as they reached a cave. Inside the giant, lit up, hole in the rockface stood ample material for a hideout. There Sinai stood, in a defiant stance against four others.

“Sinai!” Happy called.

With a worried expression, she peered back at the large group. “What are you doing here?! Get back!”

“Oh, look at that,” said a woman, amused. She stood amongst the four opposers. “Little Sinai actually made friends while she was away! No matter. I wonder how their blood will taste on my blade!” She launched herself at the Fairy Tail mages.

The group stared in shock and horror at the sound of her sword stabbing flesh and a gasp. Red flashed.

  
  



	5. Her Point of View

Sinai remembers only a few days of her early childhood. Her and her brother Gajeel would sometimes play tag. She would always cheat by using shadow travel magic (which she did not fully understand at the time). She would always have this bubbly laughter, taunting him while he was it. Then tagging him all too quickly when he finally got her.

But then, Sinai was walking home one day from collecting water by the stream when the sight of her house halted her. Her home was already burned down by dragons, she assumed. Now, this band of looters was going through whatever they could find. By the looks of it, neither her father, mother, or brother were there to fight them off.

She wasn’t strong like them. She was just a scared little girl. Sinai dropped the container of water and ran.

She ran and ran and ran. At times, she thought that she might collapse from exhaustion.

Then eventually, she encountered Zeref. Well, more like, she collapsed by the river and he saved her.

When she opened her eyes, she found him staring down at her. “Oh, good, you’re awake.”

“Where am I?” She asked groggily.

“By the stream,” he answered. She sat up. “You gave me quite a fright there. I was worried you wouldn’t wake up.” This dark-haired guy had a large bag with him and that was it. “Do you have any family to go back to? I’d imagine they’d be pretty worried.”

“No,” Sinai muttered. “They’re dead.”

“Mine are too,” he told her. Then his face lit up. “Hey, you want to travel with me? I’m heading to Mildian to attend the Magic Academy there. I’d imagine that they’d let you hang around.”

Mildian. A city close by, yet a place she had never gone to. “I’m not going anywhere with a stranger,” she told him, her voice at normal volume.

“I’m Zeref. Zeref Dragneel. And you are?”

“Sinai Redfox.”

He smiled. “See? We aren’t strangers now, are we?”

She hmfed. “I guess not.”

Zeref stood with his bag on his back and extended his hand towards her. “Come on.”

The two of them were admitted into the school on the same day. Sinai was given a room with a female teenager already studying there. Zeref’s room was across the hall.

It wasn’t until a month or so into their studies that Sinai discovered Zeref’s true reason for being there. He wanted to revive his little brother Natsu. Sinai wished she could do that for Gajeel if she knew he was dead. But somehow, she still hoped that he was out there somewhere.

Yet somehow, she knew that his ambitions seemed deeper than that.

In the months that followed, Sinai met this professor who dealt with creation magic. He encouraged her to try and learn the magic type, though she didn’t think that knowing more than one type of magic was possible. But he persisted. Soon enough, she was creating these little creatures out of shadows.

In the following years, she knew that Zeref was doing something with dark magic. He even told her about the Eclipse Gate, which had to do with a very nice Celestial Spirit Mage. She was about eleven or so when they sent the dragon children through the gate. She felt it strange though, that she never got to meet them.

The God Ankhseram noticed this, however, and cursed him. Zeref defiled the law of life, so the god punished him. Dragneel began to emit this black aura that was definitely a type of miasma.

The R-system, however, caused him his expulsion. Even though there were many other things that he was working on. She was sixteen when he left the school. Zeref made sure that she was away from the school when his miasma became deadly. He entered the school, angry at the professors for expelling him. Then, he released the black aura miasma. It massacred the entire population of the academy, save for Sinai.

She was there when he created his other books, not minding his company, and having nowhere else to go. Each one was different. They were almost all created to destroy him because he hated his existence and immortality at the time. One of them being something he called E.N.D. Or Etherious Natsu Dragneel. The R-system and the Eclipse Gate were also written down in his books.

Lullaby was one that Sinai took an interest in, however. The demon within it, usually in the form of a flute, kills anyone who hears its tune besides the player. The very idea of it fascinated her. Neither of them ever tested it through, and if Zeref did, then he didn’t do it around her.

Sinai was twenty-two when Zeref created the book of Deloria. The demon was hard to control. The dark mage had asked her his help in containing it within the book, but that cost her her life.

Sinai woke up confused. A man was celebrating. “Yes! Haha! It worked! Whoo!”

She sat up to find that a blanket had been wrapped around her. Others were standing or sitting around. Three men and one woman.

“Where am I?” She asked them. “What happened?”

“You, my friend,” said the first man. “Have just been completely resurrected! Haha!”

Her eyes widened. “What?!” She glanced at the others. “What year is it?” 

“It’s x792,” said one of the other men. His hair was white and short.

She stood in alarm, clutching the blanket closer to her. “What?!”

“When, exactly, did you die?” The white-haired man questioned.

“What does it matter?” Asked the female. “She’s alive now, and she should be grateful.”

Sinai turned back to the person she assumed to be the necromancer. The one celebrating his own work. “Why did you do it?” For some reason, her voice was shaking.

“I need some help, see,” the necromancer stated.

He explained to her that he was going to try and revive this monster. To do that, he needed magic from specific types of people. Her magic, the dude with the white hair’s magic, and the two’s magic. The woman with the swords was just there as his bodyguards. Since he revived them, they all have a debt to pay. Sinai knows that it’s figurative though.

In the coming months, she got to know all of their names. Goodwin was the name of the man with the white hair. He had light magic. Then there was Micheal, an earth mage, and Jin, a water mage. The necromancer claimed that he needed all of their Magic’s to revive this beast because that’s what the beast was created with.

The last one, Rikki, was the necromancer’s protector. She too was brought back from the grave. Rikki’s sword, who only responds to her, traps the souls of the victims she kills. The swordswoman has any real regard for human life.

They all wanted death upon Zeref. But to do so, they were willing to sacrifice innocent lives.

Sinai didn’t want to go along with this plan. She hated the feeling of being used. But the necromancer told her that Zeref was using her too. And with this monster, she could take her revenge. Sinai couldn’t believe those words. 

One day, she had enough and killed him, before running for her life. The others were going to catch her if she didn’t use her spatial magic, so she did.

The next nine months were spent running. She just knew that they were the type of people who were going to continue what they were tasked to do even if their master was gone. Shadow magic was rare, and they couldn’t really move on with the plan without her.

She almost forgot about her twenty-third birthday. It was crazy to think about that. It’s been centuries since she’s been alive. Somehow she thought that was a dream. She celebrated it alone and on the road feeling self-pity.

Then one fateful day, she happened upon a soul collector. It had a soul in its grasp. It hovered, spiraling around her, yet it didn’t release the soul. No, this was for someone else. That’s when she knew that it was a scout sent by the others who were resurrected. Before she could destroy it, however, these two people came upon here.

“Hey, you!” Shouted the man with blonde hair. She decided to run. “Stop!” A shadow magic-user got in her way, much to her surprise. Much to her annoyance, the soul collector got away. 

“You’ve got the wrong idea here,” she told them.

“I don’t think so,” said the blonde, stepping up behind her. “You’re coming with us.”

“I’m not going _anywhere_ with _you,_ ” she spat, slightly turning towards him.

“We’ll see about that.” He used a sort of cocky tone. “White dragon’s claw!” a beam of light magic was thrown at her.

Without even looking at the incoming magic, she said calmly, “Traveling shadows.” In a mist of black dust, she disappeared, then reappeared in the shade of the tree in front of them. She saw how the dark-haired man’s eyes widened. His orbs were full of shock and wonder. “You have the wrong person,” she said firmly. 

“Like hell I’m believing that!” the blonde yelled. She could see the Sabertooth insignia on his arm. “White dragon’s roar!” A longer beam of light shot at her.

With dull eyes, she stared at the witness and cast a spell. “Shadow’s reversal.” A portal rimmed with black dust circled around the beam. A second later, the white beam shot itself out at the Sabertooth members.

“You little --” he was about to curse her out, but his friend, the shadow mage, slithered through the ground and popped out of the shadows on the branches. 

“Shadow dragon’s waxwing flash!” the dark-haired man shouted. A tornado of shadows surrounded her, cutting her.

She stepped back, casting, “Helping shadows. Assassin.” Only she could see the monster wrapped in black dust as it moved to attack the mage standing near her. It swiped at the mage with his claws. At the last second, he dodged. 

“Shadow dragon’s slash!” yelled the dark mage as he moved to punch where he thought his target was. He missed and was kicked by her invisible shadow off of the tree.

“Rogue!” the white dragon slayer, running towards him.

“I’m fine!” said the shadow dragon slayer, almost waving him off as he got to his feet.

“White dragon’s roar-!”

Just as he cast the spell, their eyes widened. “Shadow’s trap.” Shadow rimmed portals boxed them into a tight space. They surrounded the Light Dragon Slayer on all sides and swallowed his magic. Then, it spit the magic out, hitting the guy.

“Sting!” Rogue called out for him.Sinai took this as her chance to escape. She didn’t see the dangerous look in Rogue’s eyes as he moved to become shadows and search for her.

Sinai had come out of her portal in the woods. It was dangerous, she knew that, but she needed a second. After all, they were dragon slayers. The same kids she wasn’t able to see when they were younger.

She felt the presence of someone coming up behind her. She materialized a shadow scythe out of pure thought and held it at the person’s neck before turning around. Rogue stood there with a vengeance.

“Sting should be fine, you know,” she told her. “But he needs medical attention really soon.”

“What’s to stop me from making you need medical attention?” He wondered out loud.

“Nothing,” she breathed out. “Except for the fact that I’m innocent.”

The two of them stood there like that for a while. Neither of them made a move. Then, he began to turn around, so did she. 

“You know, it’s good to finally meet you,” she told him before disappearing.

After wandering for a long while, she came upon the guild Fairy Tail and collapsed.

Upon opening her eyes, she recognized that she was on something soft, but panicked, not knowing where she was. Then her eyes widened. The young woman could have sworn she saw Anna Heartfelia. Yet, it wasn’t. Then she met the rest of the guild.

Sinai couldn’t help but think the scary guy with all the studs on his face and the long black hair could have looked like her brother. If he was still alive… 

She wanted her guild mark on her neck because she could hide it in her hair. She wasn’t ashamed of the mark, but she liked a good reveal.

She also liked doing jobs on her own. It was nice, quiet. No one asked her questions about where she was from if she had any family. Yet, Makarov suggested that she still do jobs with a team. If the job was high stakes, then she’d best have some backup. 

When team Natsu asked her along, she thought that it would be fine.

Then they ran into the necromancer. By the way he spoke, it seemed as though he didn’t know about her. In Sinai’s mind, this could have meant two things. Either he was revived by someone else, or the group she was running from had managed to revive him and send him out as a scout. Either way, she didn’t want to risk losing to him.

Then, she received a message from Rikki. The swordswoman told Sinai that they revived her brother. If she wanted to see him again, then she would meet with them and complete the monster.

This was a trap. She knew it had to have been. But the possibility seemed too great. She wanted to speak with Zeref if it were possible before leaving. Just seeing his face was enough. After all those years apart from her, he’s gained the profile of a god or a demon because of the things he had done. Sinai thought it was silly. Yet she wanted to see him, speak with him, one last time before he was possibly killed.

Sinai wasn’t expecting though for her Fairy tail guildmates to come after her. Nor was she expecting the SaberTooth Twin Dragons to come either, but she couldn’t let any of them die. When Rikki lunged to attack, she got in the way. Somehow, Sinai felt that this was better. She wouldn’t be forced into reviving a monster and she would rejoin her friends in the afterlife.


	6. They Find Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter yay!!

But death never came. “Sinai!” She heard a few of her guildmates call out. The shadow mage then saw Wendy run over to her through blurred vision. A strange warm, healing sensation could be felt.

Damn it.

“You bastards!” Natsu shouted before casting, “Fire dragon’s iron fist!” The sound of rocks breaking hit Sinai’s ears. The others began to fight the resurrected beings.

These clueless morons.

“Wendy stop,” said the shadow mage, moving her hand on top of the healers.

“Sinai, no, I can heal you!” She nearly shouted. She sat on her knees with a hunched over form. The girl took the young woman’s hand in hers.

“You shouldn’t,” she told her.

“What is this nonsense?” Carla questioned. “You are clearly injured, do you wish to die?!”

“Yes.” The word was barely above a whisper.

“But Sinai-“ Wendy tried, but the sight of the shadow mage trying to sit up halted her. “You shouldn’t move, or you’ll injure yourself further.”

“But Wendy, you need to listen,” the young woman told her, leaning closer to her ear so the others wouldn’t hear. “If I die, then those bad guys over there would never get their plan seen through.”

“What?!” She whisper-yelled.

“Wendy! Is something wrong?” Lucy asked her before summoning Ares.

“No!” Replied the sky dragon slayer.

“Then heal her already, would’ya?” came Gajeel’s voice. He then punched Goodwin in the face with his iron first. Sinai wondered why he would be especially interested in her survival.

“Yes! Keep that bitch alive!” Shouted Rikki. “Everyone else can die!” She was about to slice at one of the dragons, but Erza stopped her. “Ugh! Would you just die already?!”

“Wendy, listen,” at the sound of Sinai’s voice, the bluenette returned her gaze to her patient. “If I die, then they wouldn’t be able to revive a monster.”

Carla’s eyes widened as she chose her words carefully. “What kind of monster?” 

“I’m not exactly sure, they never really told me, but apparently, it’s close to an Etherius.” The two of them peered at the young woman in question. “All that I  _ was _ told was that it’s a very powerful monster, maybe powerful enough to kill Zeref. But it needs certain types of magic in order to be revived.”

“But Sinai, don’t you see?” Wendy asked her, healing the woman. “If you live, then you get to help us fight them. We can win.”

“You don’t know that,” the shadow woman enunciated.

“But we can  _ try,  _ can’t we?”

The young woman sighed, quickly glancing over to the others. They were all fighting the other revived. Rogue, Frocsh, Lector, and Sting were facing off against Goodwin (the light mage). He made copies of himself which Levy, Pantherlily, and Gajeel fought against. Gray and Juvia faced off against Jin (the water mage). Natsu and Happy fought with Micheal, the Earth Mage, and Erza, and Lucy were fighting Rikki. “I suppose you’re right.”

After Wendy had healed her, Sinai got up and told them, “You both should go help the others.”

Just as the dragon slayer and the Exceed were about to run off, Carla stopped and asked, “What are you going to do?” 

“I’ll destroy the equipment. If these magical items are destroyed, then no one could use them for evil again.” The three of them nodded before splitting up.

If Sinai remembered correctly, all of these magical circuits connected devices that would absorb magic with a glass cage that concealed a magic item. Each device only catered to a specific magic type, but could be destroyed regardless. As she got closer to the technology, however, she was swarmed with soul collectors.

“Shadow’s Scythe!” the shadow mage called out. A large scythe created from shadows appeared in her hands. She lobbed off most of the demons’ heads.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Rikki shouted, getting in her way. With a gasp, Sinai blocked the psycho’s sword with her shadow weapon. Slash after slash was met with the scythe. “You are going to do nothing!”

“Like hell!”

With a yell, Erza threw a sword in Rikki’s direction, causing Sinai to jump back. The redhead had her heaven’s wheel armor on when the sword she held collided with Rikki’s. “What do you want with Sinai?” the mage asked the swordswoman.

Rikki hummed in question as she moved to stab the redhead.

They clashed swords again. “You mentioned earlier that you want her alive.  _ Why?” _

“You mean she hasn’t told you?!” A wicked smile appeared as she cackled, catching everyone’s attention. “The only reason any of us were revived was to help our beloved necromancer revive a monster. To make that work, we needed a certain magic. One that Sinai has. We  _ all _ hated Zeref. This would have  _ destroyed _ him.” Angrily, she faced the shadow mage. “But this bitch threw a wrench in our plans!”

“It would have destroyed innocent lives and town!” Sinai argued. “Helping shadow hands!” From the darkness of the cave sprung hands, moving to grab the woman. 

She cut one of them with her sword, but ended up getting captured by the others. The woman tried to fight their grip, but it was futile. Just as Sinai was about to kill her, one of the Fairy Tail mages spoke up.

“ _ Wait _ , Sinai,” came Erza’s voice. “Think about what you’re doing.”

“I don’t have to.”

“You shouldn’t.” They all turned to see Zeref standing in the entryway. “I’ll do it.”

“You-“ Natsu didn’t care if this immortal man was his brother. He had done so many things wrong. He was a psychopath in his eyes.

“We don’t have time for this, little brother,” Zeref cut him off, not even looking at her. “You and your friends should leave.”

“What?!” Sinai questioned, walking up to him. “But-“

“But  _ nothing _ ,” he said, firmly. “Let me handle this. I caused your death. Let me redeem myself.” He began emanating the black miasma he was cursed with. 

They really had to leave now, or they would risk getting killed by his poison. Most of the mages took little time in getting the fuck out, but Sinai lingered, taking one last look at him.

As they traversed down the mountain with a strange atmosphere hanging about them, Gray pointed out, “You have some explaining to do, Sinai.”

“I know,” she told him. “Just… not now.”

He soon realized the mood she was in. He wasn’t going to get anything out of her at this point in time.


	7. After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter yay!

Once they got back to the Fairy Tail guildhall, she told them her story. She told them about how she got separated from her brother. Then about how she met Zeref and how they came to be in the Mildian Magic Academy. She told them about her studies, about Anna Heartfelia and what she knew of the Eclipse Gate (which wasn’t much. Zeref and Anna didn’t even let her see the dragons’ children). She told them what she knew about the R-system, and Lullaby. She told them about how Zeref wanted her away from the school as he killed everyone in it with his miasma. Then she spoke of Deloria, and how she died. After that, she explained her “perfect resurrection,” and how she doesn’t need soul collectors to collect for her. Then she told them about the necromancer and the plan he had concocted. Lastly she spoke of her time in Fairy Tail. She told them about how much of a family they seem to her. Then she told them about the trap the twisted resurrected people had come up with.

Sinai couldn’t help but notice how the Iron Dragon Slayer listened intently to the beginning of her story. Once she mentioned Zeref, Natsu began paying more attention. At the mention of Anna Heartfelia, Lucy perked up. At the mention of the R-system, Erza’s gaze hardened. At the mention of Deloria, Gray’s eyes widened. At the mention of her not needing soul collectors, Sting and Rogue almost looked relieved. Yet, everyone was set on edge at the detailed mention of the necromancer’s plan. Then the Iron Dragon Slayer looked intently at her as she told them about the trap, and about how she knew he was dead, but went anyway.

“It must have been Zeref who sent you those collectors to follow,” Sinai informed them. “Because I sure as hell didn’t send them. Heck, I didn’t even want any of you involved in it.”

“You idiot,” the iron dragon slayer told her with crossed arms.

With a shocked expression, Levi scolded him. “Gajeel! You don’t have to be such a jerk.”

At the very mention of the name Gajeel, Sinai’s eyes widened. Gajeel. So then, her hunch was right. Her brother was standing right in front of her. How could she have missed that? What if they called him by name in her proximity before and she just didn’t notice?

“I need to go,” she told them before anyone could see tears flowing down her face.

Sinai found herself sitting on a bench near a giant tree. Not many people were around. After not even thirty seconds, tears cascaded from her eyes. Why the hell was she crying, anyway? Shouldn’t she be happy? We’re these happy tears? Grey tears? Numb tears?

“I couldn’t find you in the wreckage of our house,” came a sort of gruff voice behind her. Gajeel. She turned to see him standing just a few feet away. He moved to sit on the bench. She turned her gaze forward. “And I tried. I really tried. But all I could find were the remains of our parents and that a bunch of our shit was stolen. I just assumed your body turned to ashes. So, I wandered away, and came across Metalicana, the Iron Dragon. He taught me my dragon slayer magic. None of us first generation dragon slayers even remember passing through that gate, you know.”

“I figured,” she stated, keeping her gaze forward.

“Listen, I’m not great at this whole apology thing, but-“

“You don’t have to,” she faced him. “I get it.”

“No, I want to.” He glanced away from her and rubbed the back of his neck, as if trying to find the words. As his hand fell to his side he faced her. “I’m sorry for not looking for you, but I’m not sorry for calling you an idiot.”

She blinked then frowned. “You’re right, you’re not good at making apologies.”

“Will you just listen for a second?” She almost chuckled. “Listen. This is Fairy Tail. We’re not just a guild, we’re a family. Had we known something was wrong, we would have come running. And I’m not just saying that because you’re my sister.”

She breathed out a small laugh. “Yeah, alright.”

On their way back into the guild, they came across Lucy. “Oh, hey!” The blonde ran up to them and waved. “Are you okay? You walked out kinda quickly.”

“I am,” Sinai told her. They were about to part ways when the shadow mage felt the need to tell her something. “You know.” Gajeel halted his steps a few feet away from them. “You remind me a lot about Anna.” Lucy’s face showed that she wasn’t sure how to feel about that. “Don’t worry, it’s in a good way. She was a brilliant mage.”

Lucy smiled. “Thank you.”

Once they reached the guild’s doors, the two Redfoxs spotted the dragon slayer twins. Lector pulled on the blonde’s pant leg and gestured over to them. “Yo!” Sting called out to the two dark haired and red eyes people. They met in the middle. “Look, I’m sorry how we acted,” Sting admitted. “We shouldn’t have assumed.” 

“Yeah,” Sinai agreed, nodding her head. “It’s alright though. It all worked out fine in the end.” She looked towards Rogue who held Frosch in his arms and nodded towards him. He did the same.

As they stepped through the doors, the sight looked like any other day. Natsu and Gray were fighting each other, Cana sat at the counter drunk, Wendy, Happy, Pantherlily, and Carla were chatting, Levy had her nose in a book, and Juvia was fawning over Gray, 

Sinai smiled as she and her brother entered the guild hall. The brawling ceased when the duo noticed the Redfoxs. “Oh, hey guys!” Natsu greeted with a warm smile and a small wave.

“Hey!” Sinai greeted back.

“So, why’d you rush out?” The salmon head questioned.

“You idiot, you don’t just ask people that,” Gray told him. 

Slightly angered, the dragon slayer turned to the half naked man. “I don’t need to listen to a guy who can’t keep his shirt on, popsicle.”

“What was that?!” Pretty soon, the two had begun fighting again.

Gajeel sighed and walked over to the table Levi sat at. He took the seat next to her and put his feet on the table.

Sinai was about to find her own place to sit when Erza knocked Natsu’s and Gray’s heads together. “You destroyed my cake. That’s enough!”

“Yes Ma’am,” the two of them submitted, afraid for their lives.

The requip mage sighed as the other two slinked away. Then she noticed the shadow mage and walked up to her. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m good.”

“That’s good.”

Something shattered on the floor. The two mages turned their heads to see another fight breaking out between the guildmates. This time it involved Elfman, so they already knew it was going to get brutal.

Yes, it was chaotic. And yes, this was her Guild. And this town? Her home. What more could she ask for?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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